A review by gvstyris
A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyen

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

4.75

Americans, who continually struggle to be greater than the sum of their parts, live in a culture of forgetfulness, that fifty-first state of Denial. This is a country where so many would rather not remember what the poet William Carlos Williams calls the orgy of blood from which the nation was born and that still soaks the land so many citizens, including those who were once refugees, continue to profit from. 

A Man of Two Faces somehow manages to simultaneously be moving, compelling and witty...and I'll be thinking about it for a long time.   

I have too many thoughts so main highlights include: 
- the discussion about what 'whiteness' actually entails and how its definition has changed throughout history 
- the unpacking of the cycle of colonisation & how the colonised become colonisers
- everything about the importance of decolonising the literary canon and how 'the Great American novels' represent a very white, straight, cis, upper-class, male POV
- the way this novel intersects history & anecdotal experiences 
- how white supremacy influences the way different racial minorities interact with one-another 
- Nguyen's sensitivity towards his parents (& later children) 
- the second person narration!
- the underlying dry humour 
- Nguyen's self-awareness and honesty 

Such an important read, and I'm so so excited to hear Nguyen speak at the Auckland Writers' Fest. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings